Under a new captain and coach, India signaled the dawn of a new era going 1-0 up in the three-match T20I series and will be looking to take an unassailable lead when they face New Zealand in the second match on Friday, 19 November in Ranchi.
While a win did not come easy for India in the first match, they will be backing their chances of sealing the series in the second T20I. Keeping the heartbreak of an early exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup aside, they will be backing a young Indian side to deliver in the final two T20Is.
Under Rohit Sharma’s strong leadership, India ended a seven-match losing streak against New Zealand across formats. With several young and upcoming players on the bench, the hosts will be looking to make the most of this opportunity and give them a chance to shine, considering the next T20 World Cup is less than a year away.
New Zealand might be missing the services of regular captain Kane Williamson, but they are fielding their usual side and would want to quickly shrug off the disappointment of their last two matches. Their batting is firing but the middle-order needs to step up. The visitors would be looking to work on their consistency and ironing out the few chinks in the upcoming matches.
It was a dramatic win for new India as they held their nerve in the final over to register a five-wicket victory over New Zealand in the first T20I. New Zealand, who were asked to bat first, put up 164/6, thanks to a stunning 42-ball 70 from Martin Guptill. He was ably assisted by Mark Chapman, who made a half-century of his own. After Guptill-Chapman’s century-stand, the visitors faltered towards the end, probably 20 short of what they were expecting.
In reply, India cruised in the initial overs, registering half-century stands for the first and second wicket. New Zealand, however, fought back with Suryakumar’s wicket in the 17th over and turned the screws on the hosts, giving away just 11 runs in the next 2.2 overs to bring the equation down to 10 off the last over. Despite Daryl Mitchell snaring a wicket, a couple of fours sealed the deal for India.
Rohit Sharma, India captain (after the first T20I win): “As a team we are happy that the guys got to bat in that situation and finished the game off. Technically was a good game, (we were) missing a few players and to come and see what the new players have in terms of ability and I think the way we pulled it back in the last 3-4 overs was magnificent.”
Tim Southee, New Zealand skipper (after the first T20I defeat): “You always want to come out on the right side of the result. We played our best cricket and took it deep. Mark Chapman hasn’t played a lot of cricket of late, and to play the way he played was very pleasing to the side. It was a game of fine margins.”